TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS - June 26

Posted on June 26, 2007

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBSAfter a rainy start to Wimbledon Monday which included over 4 hours of rain delays, the weather is expected to clear somewhat on Tuesday. All told, 39 matches from Monday have been rescheduled for Tuesday...The last player to win Wimbledon without playing a grass tune-up event was Andre Agassi in 1991, the same year the first day of play was last wiped-out completely.

What was up with the staggered match suspensions at the end of the day's play Monday? Henman-Moya finally suspended play over an hour after Tursunov-Almagro stopped due to darkness. Without a roof overhead Centre Court play could go on further, but an hour extra more than outer courts?...Justin Gimelstob has likely played his last Wimbledon after losing to Andy Roddick Monday. Gimelstob left everything on the court, diving about 700 times during the loss...Playing in her first match in two months, 1997 champ Martina Hingis saved two match points and won the last nine games over Brit Naomi Cavaday...Tim Henman has already blown four match points vs. Carlos Moya. Think he slept well Monday night knowing that?...How weird does Centre Court look without a roof? Looks like Cincinatti...Roger Federer holds the all-time best win-loss percentage in Grand Slam finals (10 or more finals). At 49 wins in a row, Federer is also currently riding the all-time longest winning streak on grass, ahead of Bjorn Borg's second-best 41 in a row. Rafael Nadal will try to become the first player to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year since Borg in 1980...Dutchman Peter "Nuclear" Wessels rose from 488 to No. 221 after his runner-up effort at the Ordina Open, losing to Ivan Ljubicic...In their ongoing plan to reduce doubles to a sideshow yet appease doubles players, the ATP has launched another doubles marketing campaign, "Doubles Rules." Look for a Kevin Ullyett poster in a store near you...Andre Agassi's buddy Perry Rogers has been re-elected to the ATP Board as player representative for the Americas region for a second three-year term, beating out an enraged Justin Gimelstob who thought he had the position locked up. Former ATP Communications Director David Higdon, now the Champ Car racing executive vice president of strategic development and communications, threw his hat in the player-voted contest and reportedly received zero votes...The WTA Tour announced that Beijing has been awarded one of the tour's 9-day super events under their 2009 revised calendar. It is one of the tour's four "crown jewel" events "that will anchor the streamlined 2009 Calendar under the Tour's Roadmap plan," according to the WTA. The tournament will be held at the Olympic Green Tennis Center in Beijing, the official site of the 2008 Olympic Games tennis event. According to the WTA, "Under terms of the partnership, Beijing and the Tour, working with the city of Shanghai and the ATP, will explore the possibility of combining the Beijing tournament with the ATP's Masters Series event in Shanghai, creating a combined women's/men's event that would rotate annually between Beijing and Shanghai. The other three crown jewel mandatory events under the Tour's Roadmap plans will be the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells and an event to be staged in the city of Madrid."...American men went 1-for-4 Monday at Wimbledon, winning one when two Americans faced each other, Andy Roddick vs. Justin Gimelstob...Serena Williams is now 31-0 in first-round matches at Grand Slams...From the blogging Justin Gimelstob: "I want to publicly apologize to Andre Agassi's agent, Perry Rogers, and some other members of the ATP after I abruptly and inappropriately accused them of foul play that contributed to my board of directors election loss last weekend. I'm by no means going to hide behind the customary "I was misquoted or misrepresented" bogus lines that often accompany these types of apologies. I made comments out of emotion and disappointment, and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Rogers on being re-elected to the ATP board. I believe the game is in good hands with him helping to navigate its future."...More from Gimelstob on his "conversation" with Perry Rogers, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "It wasn't a conversation. It was more him yelling at me. It did not end in a harmonious way. I was more than fine to agree to disagree. But he didn't see it that way. He's a great businessman, but, basically, I think it's better to see your enemies from the front. I'm not saying I didn't do certain things right. I thought I had the votes and coasted on that. I could have been a little more prepared, while he was very smart and calculating. He had people on the inside, completely manipulating and politicking for him."...James Blakereportedlyhas a new book out next month.